Mum and Dad

It is considered that a couple should consult a specialist in Assisted Reproduction when pregnancy has not been achieved after a year of sexual intercourse without any form of contraceptive protection.

This period is indicative because it can vary according to age: for example, it is recommended to reduce it to 6 months from the age of 35.

Each technique has a pregnancy rate, and this varies depending on the age of the patient. In vitro Fertilization, for example, can reach 50% in younger patients, and egg donation offers pregnancy rates of over 60%.

The origin and causes of infertility can be very varied. In general, it is established that in 40% of cases, the origin of infertility is male. In another 40% the origin is female, and in the remaining 20% of cases there is a mixed causal factor.

The most common male cause is a decrease in seminal quality, including the absence of sperm in the ejaculate, although this is not the only cause (genetic diseases, age, etc.).

At the female level, the most frequent cause of infertility is a woman’s age. The role of women in developed societies has changed a lot in recent years, leading to a delay in the age at which women seek pregnancy. From the age of 35 there is a drop in fertility rates among women, which becomes more pronounced from the age of 38.

Infertility and sterility are often referred to interchangeably, but they are not synonymous.

We talk about sterility when we refer to the impossibility of achieving pregnancy after a certain period of unprotected sexual intercourse. However, the term infertility refers to the inability to achieve pregnancies capable of progressing correctly (this would include repeated miscarriages, premature births…).

According to epidemiological studies published to date, around 15% of couples of reproductive age have some kind of alteration at this level. In other words, one in six couples will need help conceiving, although this trend is increasing.

Yes, in the case of men, a testicular biopsy is taken to extract a seminal sample. The sperm obtained will be used to fertilize the eggs in the laboratory.

In the case of women, an ovarian puncture is performed to extract the ovocytes that will be fertilized with the sperm in the laboratory.

The surplus embryos will be cryopreserved and, according to current legislation, can be used for the following purposes:

• Own use, for subsequent attempts, either if the first attempt has failed, or with a view to having another child in the future.
• Donation to other women or couples for reproductive purposes.
• Donation for research purposes.
• Destruction for no other purpose. In this case, the law states that this can only be done after the legally established period.

For women, the minimum legal limit is  18 and the maximum limit is 50.

And why is it necessary to establish this limit? Because age is a fundamental factor in the reproductive process and can lead to complications for both the mother and the future baby.

No, at Next Fertility we don’t have a waiting list to start any of the treatments we conduct at our center, and we are committed to conducting the treatment on the date chosen by the patients.

In all assisted reproduction treatments, the transfer of a single embryo is generally recommended to minimize the risk of multiple pregnancies, since multiple pregnancies are risky pregnancies, but even if a single embryo is transferred into the uterus, it is possible for a twin pregnancy to occur, just as it can in a spontaneous pregnancy.

No, in Portugal, as in the rest of Europe, free sex selection is not permitted by law; although it is true that there are techniques such as PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Testing) that allow us to know whether embryos in culture are male or female.

However, although choice is not allowed, there are some exceptions, in those cases where the sole aim is to avoid the transmission of genetic diseases associated with the sex chromosomes. These exceptions are regulated in the Medically Assisted Procreation Law 32/2006, which also establishes that sex selection or genetic manipulation for non-therapeutic or unauthorised purposes is a very serious offence.